technabob » jules verne http://technabob.com/blog gadgets, gizmos, games, cool gadgets, geeky gadgets Mon, 23 Nov 2009 00:53:35 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.6 en hourly 1 strenco st-2 steambot: your own steam powered robot http://technabob.com/blog/2009/01/04/strenco-st-2-steambot-steam-robot/ http://technabob.com/blog/2009/01/04/strenco-st-2-steambot-steam-robot/#comments Sun, 04 Jan 2009 13:00:32 +0000 technabob http://technabob.com/blog/?p=7121 Batteries schmatteries. Electricity shmelectricity. Who needs modern energy sources when you can have scalding hot steam to power your gadgets? This unique robot from Germany gets its juice from good old H2O.

strenco st-2 steam powered robot steambot germany

Strenco’s ST-2 Steambot lumbers along thanks to a tiny copper Wilesco steam engine that’s been implanted in his chest cavity.

strenco st-2 steam powered robot steambot germany

strenco_steam_robot_3

Now don’t expect to just flip a switch to get this retro robot going. You’ll need pop his head off, fill him up with water, and light a tiny (stinky) Esbit fire in his belly before his mechanical innards get started.

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And despite the wild gyrations of his internal steam engine, the robot moves at a snail’s pace once up to full speed.

Click to View Embedded Video Clip

Only 300 of these $600 (USD) limited-edition Steambots were created, so good luck finding one. A couple of places to start on your robot quest include MiniSteam, ManuFactum and General Robots.

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